Warren releases $100 billion plan to combat opioid epidemic

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren has unveiled a new version of her plan to combat America’s opioid epidemic, proposing to spend $100 billion over 10 years on battling the public health consequences of addiction.

Warren’s new opioids measure is modeled on a 1990 law passed to help fight the spread of AIDS and would be paid for using her proposed tax on the wealthiest American households. The Massachusetts senator released her new plan Wednesday ahead of a campaign trip to Ohio and West Virginia, where she’ll visit a town that sued drug companies.

Warren ties the opioid epidemic to the influence of drug companies’ “money and power” in America. Drug companies have largely denied that their distribution practices contributed to the nation’s rising opioid overdose rate.